Santa Baby
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Regina is a waitress by day, singing telegram by night. At a Christmas party, she catches the eye of a handsome architect.


When Regina moved to Los Angeles, she swore she wasn't going to be another one of those starry eyed girls with her head in the clouds. She had a plan and she was going to succeed. She wouldn't wait to get discovered, she'd knock on every door, even if they got slammed in her face.

In the end, that was ultimately what happened.

Rather than going home and facing her smug mother, she stayed in L.A and began doing what many aspiring singers did. She got a job as a waitress at a diner and did singing telegrams on the side. December was her busiest seasons, as people requested she did work for office parties.

After an 8 hour shift at the diner, Regina changed out of her syrup covered blue 50s style uniform and into her "Miss Clause" one. She pulled on her fishnet stockings, followed by a black body suit and tied a red Santa's robe around her. Black knee high boots were slipped on her feet and she pulled a Santa hat on her head. It was her second season in the costume and it no longer humiliated her. She did what she needed to pay the bills.

This time, the party was at an architect office in downtown. She took the elevator up, wheeling her karaoke machine behind her. The room was filled with dozens of people, donning cheesy holiday accessories over their pantsuits and corporate dresses. A look at that reminded her of the life her mother wanted for her, but she quickly shook it off.

"Hello everybody," she said, pulling the microphone to her mouth. "My name is Miss Clause and I'll be your entertainment this evening. Let's start this off by jingling some bells."

The office cheered and a few already drunken men raised their eggnog glasses. Regina went through her set, doing both classic and modern. People mixed between watching her, eating, drinking and mingling. She preferred the moments when they were all too busy to lay eyes on her, it brought her back to a time when she just sang in the shower. She ended with what was both a crowd favorite and her most hated in the entire set: All I Want For Christmas. The crowd applauded and she thanked them for their time.

The man that had hired her, offered for her to stay and enjoy the food. She was tired, but had yet to go grocery shopping, so she wasn't in the business to turn down a free meal. The only thing Regina regretted, was not bringing a change of clothes. The office was well heated; but even taking into account the tacky light up necklaces and elf hats that the employees wore, she was well underdressed. Regina tugged the belt on her Santa coat, so it'd cover her body suit a little better as she put some lasagna onto her plate. She was so into her own little world, that she didn't notice the blonde man in a forest green suit coming over until his English accent came through.

"Great set, Miss Clause."

She looked up, her mouth full of cheese and noodles. Quickly swallowing, she nodded her head. "Thank you." The lasagna was so dry, she needed to take a long drink of seltzer to wash it down.

He chuckled. "Not a fan of Granny's catering? To be fair, the lasagna's the worst of her dishes. Burgers and pancakes are far superior."

"Your grandmother made this?"

"No, it's a diner not far from here." He held out his hand. "I'm Robin by the way."

"Regina." She shook it.

"And here I thought you were the real Mrs. Clause."

"It's Miss," she corrected. "Mrs. Clause does not have an ass this good."

Another laugh escaped his lips and for some reason, it made her stomach tingle. "Seriously though, your voice is amazing."

"From your mouth to a record company's ears," she lifted the can and took another sip.

"You waiting to be discovered?"

"I'm not that kind of girl, I'm trying to fight for it, but it's not easy in this town."

"Well, if I was the head of one, I'd sign you in a heartbeat."

"Maybe that's why you're in the business of building skyscrapers and not labels."

"Eco-friendly skyscrapers," he corrected.

"Ah, so at least you're one of those."

"That a good thing?"

"Great thing." She tossed the plate into the garbage. "I really should get going, though. It was nice of your boss to offer for me to stay, but the company sort of frowns upon lingering."

"Let me help you to your car," he offered, nodding to her machine. "It looks heavy."

Regina wanted to point out that it was on wheels and that she had been doing it for over a year, but something about her blue eyes persuaded her against it. She nodded and allowed him to grab hold of the handles, following her out to the elevator. They talked along the way, getting to know each other better. He was a divorcee of two years, his wife was already remarried…to a woman. They got along great though and were still best friends, which was good for their son's sake. Regina told him about the small town in Maine that she came from and admitted that she didn't have too many friends in this town.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Robin asked as he put the machine in her trunk.

"Yeah, I couldn't afford it last year but my mom sent me a ticket."

"That's lucky."

She made a face. "You can say that. A bunch of people asking if I've actually made it yet."

"Family, sometimes I'm glad I just have Marian, Mulan and Roland for that."

Regina smirked. "You lucky duck."

They stood there for a moment. She didn't want to leave, but also wasn't sure exactly where this was leading. This wasn't the first man to follow her out after one of her "grams".

"Is this the part where you ask me for a hookup?" She finally asked.

Robin arched an eyebrow. "That happen often?"

"More than you think. More so when I'm in my Madam Valentine costume, but some people have that Miss Clause fetish."

"That's not why I wanted to talk to you, though the clothes did help. I was just…" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm so bad at this. I haven't had to ask a woman out in a long time."

Regina bit her lip to hold back a giggle. "How about this? I'm gonna go shower and change. I'll probably end up at The Merry Men, down on Olympic. Meet me there around 8?"

He grinned. "Sounds good to me."


End file.
